door. Before he had pulled it back more than an inch he stopped
and remained perfectly still. Two warriors were standing outside within
three feet of him. They were Miamis, and they were talking in low tones
which he could not understand. He waited patiently for them to pass on,
but presently one of them glanced at the door. He may have been the
owner of the crib, and he noticed that the door was shut or nearly shut,
when it had been left open. He stepped forward and gave it a push,
sending it against the youth who stood on the other side.

The Miami uttered an exclamation, but Henry acted promptly. He did not
wish to fire a shot and bring hundreds of warriors down upon himself and
his friends, but he sprang out of the door with such violence that he
struck the first Miami with his shoulder and knocked him senseless. The
second warrior, startled by this terrifying apparition, was about to
utter a cry of alarm, but Henry seized him by the throat with both
hands, compressed it and threw him from him as far as he could. Then he
sprang among the vines, where he was joined by his comrades, and,
bending low, they rushed for the corn field and its protection.

The second Miami was the first to recover. He sprang to his feet and
opened his mouth to let forth the war cry. It did not come. Instead an
acute pain shot along his throat. He did not know how powerful were the
hands that had constricted him there. Nevertheless he persisted and at
the fourth trial the war cry came, sending its signal of alarm all
through the village. Warriors poured out of the dark, and led by the
Miamis they dashed through the garden in eager pursuit.

The five were already in the field, running down among the corn rows.
Over them waved the highest blades of the corn, still rustling dryly in
the wind.

"We are as good runners ez they are," said Shif'less Sol. "An' they
can't see us here in the corn, but ain't that a pack o' them on our
heels. Listen to that yelp."

The war cry came from hundreds of throats, and behind them they heard
the patter of many feet on the soft earth of the field, but they were
not in despair. Not far beyond lay the woods, and they had full faith
that they would reach their cover in time. The rows of corn guided them
in a perfectly straight line, and the number of their pursuers were of
no avail. They reached the woods in a few minutes, and, although the
warriors then caught dim glimpses of them, and fired a few shots, no